Out of Reach: The Housing Wage in Context

On Wednesday TxLIHIS released Texas data from the annual national study of housing affordability “Out of Reach” prepared by the National Low income Housing Coalition. The press conference on Capitol Hill on the occasion of the release provides important and interesting context to the study, the housing crisis faced by the poor and working poor and the Obama Administration’s approach to solving it.

Yesterday, NLIHC released Out of Reach 2012: America’s Forgotten Housing Crisis. This report highlights the gap between wages renters actually earn, and what they would need to earn to afford the rent and utilities for a modest two-bedroom apartment in their state.

As a part of our release, we held a press conference on the data. Speaking at the event, along with NLIHC President & CEO Dr. Sheila Crowley and Senior Research Analyst Megan Bolton, was Dr. Raphael Bostic, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Development at HUD. Dr. Bostic and Dr. Crowley used their remarks to provide important context for the report.

Dr. Bostic described Out of Reach as providing an “evidence base” for what’s working and what’s not in terms of housing policy. He noted that the Worst Case Needs report HUD issues every two years has shown a tremendous increase in the number of renters…